Towards a business analytics capability for the circular economy

Digital technologies are growing in importance for accelerating firms’ circular economy transition. However, so far, the focus has primarily been on the technical aspects of implementing these technologies with limited research on the organizational resources and capabilities required for successfully leveraging digital technologies for circular economy. To address this gap, this paper explores the business analytics resources firms should develop and how these should be orchestrated towards a firm-wide capability. The paper proposes a conceptual model highlighting eight business analytics resources that, in combination, build a business analytics capability for the circular economy and how this relates to firms’ circular economy implementation, resource orchestration capability, and competitive performance. The model is based on the results of a thematic analysis of 15 semi-structured expert interviews with key positions in industry. Our approach is informed by and further develops, the theory of the resource-based view and the resource orchestration view. Based on the results, we develop a deeper understanding of the importance of taking a holistic approach to business analytics when leveraging data and analytics towards a more efficient and effective digital-enabled circular economy, the smart circular economy.